New & Renewable Energy Minister Pralhad Joshi has said that India is on track to achieve the 500 gigawatts (GW) renewable energy target by 2030. He said the government is also planning an additional 300 GW of capacity beyond 2030. He noted that India has already achieved 310 GW of renewable energy capacity.
Talking about the challenges regarding the faster adoption of renewable energy, the minister said ‘transmission is taking time... the transmission line takes more than 3 years, 4 years, 5 years up to ... that is the problem we are trying to (tackle that).’ About the rooftop solar scheme, he stated that ‘now it is six days for every lakh (installations) and in the coming days we want to make it 5 days, 4 days, so that is the speed we want to achieve.’
Talking about delays in payment to renewable energy firms, he said some states pay on time, while others do not. He said there is a provision: if they do not pay on time, they have to pay interest and penalties; these provisions are in place, so they cannot escape easily. About the Cabinet decision on the viability gap funding scheme of Rs 14,500 crore for battery energy storage system, he said it is for pump storage and battery storage through renewable energy. It is a very good move, and it supports even renewable energy because there is excess electricity generation during the daytime.